The present invention relates to an interactive system; and, more particularly, to a method for editing images by inserting information therein and for playing back the edited images including the information in the interactive system.
A conventional interactive system such as a video on demand(VOD) system comprises a server equipment, a client equipment, and a communication network. The server equipment typically includes a communication module, a subscriber management module and a video management module. The communication module communicates with the client equipment and the subscriber management module manages and stores subscriber information. The video management module manages and stores video information and images to be provided to the client equipment. The subscriber management module and the video management module are equipped with storage media, such as hard disks or optical disks, respectively. The server equipment stores the images along with the subscriber and the video information in the storage media in the form of digital signals and provides the client equipment with the stored images and video information through the communication module upon the request from an interactive system subscriber, wherein the stored images are motion or still pictures.
The client equipment typically includes an input device, an output device, a video interface module, a communication module, and a decoding module. The input device, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a tablet or a touch screen, serves to accept an instruction from a user or a subscriber. The decoding module decodes the encoded video information and images transmitted thereto from the server equipment via the communication module. The video interface module processes the decoded video information and the images to provide processed data to the output device. The output device, e.g., a flat panel display, displays the processed data. Up to now, however, the conventional interactive systems are provided with only basic functions such as a normal playback and fast playback mode, a rewind mode, a pause mode, and a jumping mode to skip from one point to another point.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method, for use in an interactive system, capable of editing images by inserting information therein and playing back the edited images.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for editing images by inserting information therein in an interactive system provided with a mutual communication structure between a client equipment and a server equipment, wherein the edited images including the information inserted are stored in storage media employed in the server equipment, comprising the steps of:
a) establishing a whiteboard (WB) mode in the client equipment in response to a WB selection instruction requested by the interactive system subscriber;
(b) displaying a WB picture over the images to receive WB data generated by the subscriber, wherein the WB picture informs the subscriber that the WB mode is initiated and the images are being displayed on a screen via an output device employed in the client equipment;
(c) creating edited images information by using the WB data generated by the subscriber, data generated by the client equipment and the corresponding images;
(d) transmitting the edited images information created from the client equipment to the server equipment, in response to a storage instruction requested by the subscriber;
(e) determining whether the subscriber requesting the storage instruction is an authorized subscriber by using a subscriber list in the server equipment; and
(f) storing the edited images information transmitted from the client equipment in the storage media employed in the server equipment based on the result of the step (e).
Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method for playing back edited images information in response to a playback instruction for the edited images information requested by an interactive system subscriber by using the interactive system provided with a mutual communication structure between a client equipment and a server equipment, comprising the steps of:
(i) determining whether the subscriber requesting the playback instruction is an authorized subscriber;
(ii) transmitting the playback instruction to the server equipment and converting the playback instruction into a retrieval instruction based on the result of the step (i);
(iii) retrieving the requested edited images information in response to the retrieval instruction from storage media employed in the server equipment;
(iv) transmitting the retrieved edited images information from the server equipment to the client equipment;
(v) checking whether the retrieved edited images information transmitted from the server equipment is identical to the requested edited images information; and
(vi) displaying the retrieved edited images information on a screen via an output device included in the client equipment based on the result of the step (v).